The Outer God Needs Warmth-Chapter 203: Beauty and the Beast (13)

“Are you saying that everything happening now is related to the three companies? The destruction of the city, and making the army kill civilians?”

I expected Polaris to suggest that we return immediately after joining, but instead, she asks who the enemy is.

So, I nod. Victoria also nods. She knows from Gaston the Marquis directly.

I’ve heard that too, but there’s no need to speak of it.

Now, this is a truth everyone here knows, so it doesn’t need to be said.

Hehe.

Now, there’s only one group left to shake up.

The Purple Twilight Association.

If possible, I’ll make those with religious leanings rethink their stance.

Why?

Because it makes me feel uncomfortable. What other reason could there be?

Of course, Victoria and Polaris wouldn’t want to meet them, but it can’t be helped.

I know they’ll follow, but I’ll just do as I want.

And for Victoria to return to Vern City, it’s better to face them now. Before her resentment turns into hardened hatred toward me.

“When we go back to the capital, there’s more to do. So you’re saying it was the three companies who messed up the city. And the reason is to cover up the incident in Vern City. Right?”

Polaris asks, looking at us.

“What exactly happened in Vern City that day?”

I look at Victoria. She’s thinking about something. I could explain it, but the things I know are risky.

Just mentioning the names of the companies already risks exposing that I can see from the Harvester’s perspective.

Of course, even if I get caught, I won’t immediately fall into ruin, but it could become dangerous later. So, I need to keep it hidden as much as possible.

And, I don’t need to say it.

“I’ll explain what I know.”

Victoria is here. She explains everything she knows about the incident in Vern City and her deductions since arriving here to Polaris.

The three companies have been moving as one, hiding the fatal flaws in the clockwork machines.

If that were to come to light, they’d have to pay astronomical compensation for damages and retrieval costs. The social backlash, if calculated by the amount, would be an unimaginable sum.

So they’re trying to make it disappear and fix it within two years, she says.

Then Victoria asks for my opinion.

“What do you think, Bell?”

“I don’t really know about people’s business.”

Victoria looks at me with a suspicious look. But I stand firm. Honestly, I really don’t know.

But I do know that Victoria’s speculation hasn’t yet reached the truth.

Two years. While it’s a long time, it’s far too much time to recall everything that’s been sold or replace it with some method.

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Right now, the corporate spy in the army, who is fighting the clockwork machines, is just a disposable pawn, receiving money and orders to carry them out.

Why do I know?

Because all the Harvesters who secretly manipulated the clockwork machines are dead. They were killed by the machines they had manipulated. Killing them to silence them is a clever move.

The person who gave the orders has their name and face on our server. They said if we survive and clean up the mess, we’ll be rewarded, and if there are no survivors, we’ll get extra money.

Those who became sacrifices all believed they’d be fine.

And there’s a reason for that.

Because the people the corporation approached were all gamblers who had squandered their money.

They all have serious disabilities. Gambling addicts are people who’ve severely damaged their brains. So, they’re easy to manipulate. They’ll kill people easily to get money for more gambling.

In their desperation, they’ll fall for any offer. And once used, they’re discarded. They’re workers who are no longer valuable after they’ve served their purpose.

Of course, there are cautious people.

In such cases, they’ll be given trivial tasks a few times, making them believe they’ll get money, and when it’s really needed, they’ll rush in, eager to act, thinking they’ll be paid.

And they did just that.

Also, not every spy turned into a Harvester, but those who did all frequented the same gambling hall. The point they became spies was before the Vern City incident.

In other words, they knew in advance what would happen to Vern City.

When the incident occurred, they didn’t suddenly act but had been waiting for it for a long time.

It’s really meticulous.

So, it’s strange. They’re buying two years just to hide the flaw?

There must be another reason.

What that is, I don’t know.

But I don’t need to know the details of their dangerous plan.

What matters to me is how much blood will be spilled because of this. I’m thinking this, and then a hint comes to me.

“They’re doing strange things with the military just to hide the flaw? The risk they’re taking is way more than the benefits they’d gain.”

Polaris offers a different perspective.

“Isn’t that possible because they’re a global corporation?”

Victoria asks. I think so too.

Global corporations often shake entire nations. They buy laws with money and rise above the law.

But Polaris shakes her head in denial.

“Do you know that the bigger the city, the more dangerous the city defense force becomes?”

Victoria, puzzled, asks again.

“If the city is big, doesn’t that mean more people and more safety? Does the large number of people make it more dangerous?”

But Polaris shakes her head, giving her a look as if it’s strange that she doesn’t understand, then soon gets a realization.

“If you were going to a restaurant, would you go to one where it takes a while to get a side dish, or to one right next to you?”

Ah, this is easy to understand.

It means that since people are gathered, they’re all there to enjoy the food.

“But doesn’t that mean more guards too?”

“The stronger the monster, the better the food source in its territory.”

At that, Victoria finally understands Polaris’s words and nods. Because you have to face such monsters, the defense force in big cities is stronger.

To make it easier to understand with a human analogy, it’s like saying a chocolate cake has more calories than a cucumber. They say calories are the taste, right?

“So, even if the corporation succeeds, there’s no way they’ll have no survivors. And look, it’s almost over.”

Saying that, Polaris points to the opposite direction of where we’re walking. The soldiers are disabling the clockwork machines, forming teams of 3 to 1 or 4 to 1.

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It looks like they’ve figured out how to deal with it, and now they’re easily destroying the large machines and rescuing the people inside. The smaller machines are the ones that are struggling.

Because their joints move uncontrollably, and the people inside have almost turned into meat chunks.

The machines’ movements, uncontrolled, twisted all their joints, filling their bodies with pain, guilt for killing their comrades, and despair from being unable to do anything.

When a Harvester inside kills someone, warmth enters, and memories come too. Even though it enters as fragments, all the pieces are similar, so they can be gathered together.

So, most of the people riding the small machines are dead, while those on the larger machines survived. The army is now not only destroying the machines they’re riding but also preemptively destroying the clockwork machines.

They must have realized that clockwork machines are dangerous.

Especially if {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} the enemy is connected to companies related to these machines, it’s safer to destroy them in advance.

In the end, many died, but they succeeded in maintaining the collective of the army.

Though they’re still fighting, it won’t take much longer for the battle to end.

But unless an enemy, full of the will to massacre the army, comes charging in, they’ll be safe.

As you know, that enemy is currently making its way here.

So, I walk toward it.

At this rate, I’ll meet them in the forest.

I increase my pace slightly to meet them at the boundary between the forest and the prairie.

“Bell? Why are you suddenly running?”

“I won’t answer even if you ask. Just follow me, Polaris.”

They’re talking behind me.

Right.

At least on the outside, I look sincere. I’m doing things that appear to be good. I act intentionally to appear that way. I also carefully choose my words so they think of them that way.

I’m not very smart.

So, from the beginning, I don’t show any weaknesses in my actions.

I don’t particularly want to live a virtuous life. But I don’t want to live an evil life either. I’d prefer that people live well, as much as possible.

I wish people didn’t kill each other too cruelly, and that they’d just mind their own business, not caring if some people die in the distance, while happily exploiting the byproducts.

That way, when people increase, my warmth increases too.

Like the corporations seen in the third world, corporations that have grown too large, even if the individuals are good, inevitably trample on lives.

Otherwise, the world doesn’t run.

So, I don’t bother trying to make them fight. People will fight on their own when pointed to what’s right.

Even if I’m suspected, or even if I make a mistake that I didn’t even recognize, it’s okay. As long as I haven’t given up on this world, or there’s nothing more important, I’ve always done actions that seem good, and I will continue to do so.

Do I seem foolish?

It really works.

Victoria and Polaris trust me, even though they know I’m doing something.

Hehe.

And just in time.

I meet the Purple Twilight Association before they enter the forest.